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tv   Special Report With Bret Baier  FOX News  December 24, 2012 3:00pm-4:00pm PST

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>> eric: concur with bob's comment about the troopsover seas. pray for you. >> kimberly: we -- our hearts and prayer goes out to family of the troops that are serving and most to the victims of sandy hook. i'm certain their families are missing them very much. the sweet, precious babies. angels passed on to a better place. we have won't forget them. we want to say thank you for joining us "the five" today. thank you for watching. we want to wish you all a very merry christmas. and merry christmas to the troops as well. have a great night, everyone. >> bob: merry christmas. ♪ ♪ gunman ambushes the volunteer firefighters responding to a massive fire. four shot, two killed. this is "special report." ♪
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♪ >> good evening. i'm doug mckelway in for bret baier. four firefighters were shot two fatally following a pre-shawn shootout at a house fire in rochester, new york. it appears that the blaze was set at a trap. correspondent david lee miller has details. hello. >> doug, authorities say a convicted killer paroled after serving 17 years in prison was responsible for the deadly ambush that killed two firefighters in upstate new york, outside of rochester. police are trying to figure out a motive for the rampage. >> predawn call to volunteerment for to put out this house blaze ended in tragedy. firefighters were met with gunfire. one of the injured described the scene in a call for help to a radio dispatcher. >> we're shot at, multiple firemen down.
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i think he used assault rifles. multiple firemen down. working fire. >> two firefighters for killed. one of woman worked as police officer. two others were seriously wounded. >> this is still an active investigation. but at first blush it appear it was a trap. >> police arrived and opened fire on shooter. gunman who took his own life identified as 62-year-old william spangleer. he had a criminal past. >> spangler was a convicted felon. he is not allowed to possess weapons. so, you know, did he legally possess the weapons? no. we don't know where they came from but we'll find out. >> rampage, an armored personnel carrier used to evacuate residents. by the time firemen were able to respond, seven homes burned. gunman had been convicted and paroled after beating his grandmother to death with a hammer in 1980. tonight authorities say his
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sister is unaccounted for after the fire in their home. doug? >> david lee milner new york. thank you, david. american contractor working as an advisor with nato command in afghanistan was shot and killed today by afghan policewoman. the incident occurred outside police headquarters in kabul. the first known insider attack bay woman in afghanistan. >> as the faithful gather in bethlehem to usher in christmas, residents in syria praying for peace, if not on earth in their country. unfortunately, correspondent leland vittert tells us. that prayer doesn't look like it will be answered anytime soon. >> syrian rebels say the government tanks fired some type of poison gas on the city of homs. they uploaded victi videos, whee victims are shown receiving treatment. it shows they suffer from heavy dose of tear gas and irritant, no at chemical weapon like serrin gas. troops loyal to president
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bashar assad suddenly find themselves playing defense. force to abandon large swath of the north, they resorted to firing scud missiles in the direction of the rebel enclave. time and momentum appear on side of the rebels. video shows them using better tactics, fighting as coordinated army, better equipped by the weapons they capture from the syrian government bases. 200,000 bullets, 3,000 hand grenades and cannon inventory at aleppo captured over the weekend. >> there is aftermath of bombing. some videos show civilian casualties. proving the line between civilian and citizen soldiers
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is blurred. now the rebels will face far greater challenge as they push government troops back and fight in cities they are no longer among friendly population. >> many observers note they have at least nine lives of proverbial cat. reports indicated his army was running dangerously low on diesel fuel. now we know the russians resupplied him. he is defiant. peace envoy left damascus in the past couple of hours and said there is little hope to hope civil war will end soon. >> you are in bethlehem where it's early christmas morning. what a remarkable place to be. tell us about the festivities you are seeing there. >> that is true. magical place. i step out of the shot. you can see the manger square and the christmas tree behind
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it. the start of the festivities began early in the morning. we had the palestinian boy scouts marm in along the star road. that is the original road from jerusalem all the way to bethlehem. drum corps coming along here. different christmas in bethlehem than what you experience in the states. it's not commercial christmas. not about the christmas. it's spiritual christmas. those who are here in the holy land celebrating they say it brings them closer to the faith experiencing it here and seeing what it looked like some 2,000 years ago. doug? >> remarkable scene. thank you very much. the ordeal for john pemmer, the veteran who was if deplorable conditions in violent mexican prison for four months is over. he's back in the united states at home with his family in
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time for christmas eve. he was arrested for bringing a 60-year-old antique rifle across the mexican border which he said he declared and planned use for hunting birds. for those of you who reached the holiday travel destination, you are breathing a sigh of relief. world food programmely beth pras could be preview of the after. >> busy day for travelers at the america's train station, bus station and airport. everyone rushing to make their flight. with suitcase full of gifts. >> where are you headed? >> arkansas and then kansas. >> boston. >> oklahoma. >> new york city. >> we're going to california. >> the story was much the day. rain and storms. 100,000 passengers are expected to pass through the
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atlanta airport today alone. >> it impacted us from departure standpoint. flights have been delayed on each push. throughout the concourses but here in check-in we have been able to get passengers, pretty steadily through. on a regular basis. like any other day. >> snow created havoc for skiers to the west to hit the slopes. some city saw six to 12 inches of fresh powder. northeast and mid-atlantic freezing rainfall has people scrambling to get out, even as they wish for a white christmas. >> looking forward to white christmas. >> we had adequate staffing and got the passengers out quickly. today is a good day.
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>> triple-a predicts 84 million americans will take to the roads this holiday season. driving 786 miles round trip. >> we are seeing to see the major storms develop on many part of the country there. could be major delay at airport. we could see problems on the roads as well. especially safety problems as snow and ice comes down. >> national weather service says that more storms are headed this week. predictions are for a wentry mix to pacific northwest to ohio valley. up and down the eastern seaboard. so today was just a dry one for what is to come. >> we shall see. thank you. on the subject of being on the roads, conservative u.s. senator michael crapo charged with drunken driving after a weekend arrest in washington, d.c. suburb over the weekend. idaho republican who has said he does not drink because of his mormon faith had a blood alcohol content of .11%.
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he issued apology accepting total responsibility for ips dent. in newtown, connecticut, a resident told reporters christmas will never be the same for the families who lost children and loved ones in the december 14 massacre. correspondent molly henneberg reports both sides of gun debate trying to develop a plan to keep the nation's chirp safe. >> the national rifle association may support plan to put armed officers at the nation's school bus lawmakers are less than enthusiastic about the idea, especially the democrats. dianne feinstein who is expected to introduce gun control legislation in january, called the nra idea "distraction." others suggest it might have the opposite effect on lawmakers. >> well, i think he is so extreme a tone deaf he actually helps the cause of us passing sensible gun legislation in the congress. >> we have 130,000 elementary school and secondary schools in this country. if you had two officers in each, that would cost
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$25 billion. where is that money going to come from? >> one g.o.p. senator said he is not sure this needs to be a federal effort. >> local education decisions are best made at the local level. >> but the ceo of the national rifle association who called the connecticut school murders a "horrible tragedy" is proposing a voluntary program to allow schools to bring in retired police, military or secret service together provide armed security. >> every mom and dad would make them feel better if they drop off their kids at school we have a police officer in the school, good guy that if a horrible monster tries to do something they will be there. >> he says the former republican congressman and homeland security deputy director hutchison will help develop the plan. hutchison compares this on the federal air marshals. >> it's armed guards with a
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presence there to protect america. should the children less important to protect than the air transportation? i don't think so. >> gun store owners across the country have been reporting skyrocketing gun sales. colorado has unprecedented number of firearm background check applications. the nra says the membership is piking by 8,000 new members a day. >> eric: molly henneberg. thank you. case of father knows best. former republican nominee mitt romney reluctant to run for president a second time after losing his party nomination in 2008. tag romney tells the boston globe he and his mother ann had to convince romney to make another bid for the white house. he wanted to be president less than anyone i've met in my life. more on that with the panel later. later, consumers love the phrase "made in the usa." but next, the president is in hawaii.
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and the other major players also left town. but the clock still ticking. on the fiscal cliff. [ male announcer ] how do you measure happiness? by the armful? by the barrelful? the carful? how about...by the bowlful? campbell's soups give you nutrition, energy, and can help you keep a healthy weight. campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do. campbell's. ...so as you can see, geico's customer satisfaction is at 97%.
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the holiday spirit hasn't made either side willing to compromise. >> after attending a memorial service this weekend, president obama today enjoyed round of golf. the r&r in hawaii is not likely to last. with aides saying the president is expected to fly back to washington as early as wednesday. with hopes of a last-minute budget deal fading fast. >> it's the first time that i feel it's more likely that we will go over the cliff than not. if we allow that to happen, it will be, the most colossal
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consequencial act of congressional irresponsibility. >> republicans continue to insist the president wants to go off the cliff for political purposes. >> i think he sees a political victory at the bottom of the cliff. he gets the additional tax revenue for new programs and he gets to cut the mill their, that democrats have been calling for and he gets to blame republicans for it. >> top allies note he has tried to get a deal for weeks and says the real problem that republicans won't admit that obama won the election. >> on taxes, i know it's hard for republicans but the president ran on the platform. 250. no tax increase for people below but taxes for people above. he won. 60% of voters said they were for it in exit polls including republicans. >> wake of house speaker john boehner's plan "b" failure, all eyes turn to senate leaders harry reid and mitch mcconnell and whether they work out something short of $4 trillion grand bargain.
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last-minute stop gap. attending tax cut for people making $250,000 or less. and unemployment benefits for 2 million people who will lose the benefits a week after christmas. >> it is going to be a patch. because in four days we can't solve everything. >> yet, other republicans note the president short-term fix raises some taxes, yet punt spending cuts until next year. >> i would vote for revenue, including the tax rate hike though i don't like them to get, to save the country from becoming greece. i'm not going to set aside the $1.2 trillion in cuts. >> if the president does return to washington this week, unclear whether he will come back here to hawaii for new year's with his family. joe lieberman says he expects the senate to be in session on new year's eve, working on a deal down to the wire. >> thank you, ed. markets dropped on shortened day of trading. dow fell 52. s&p 500 lost 3.5. nasdaq down 8.5. might be a blue christmas for retailers.
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shoppers came out in droves but spent less this holiday season. however, sales are way up for those selling american made goods. correspondent william la jeunesse has the latest on the push for red, white, blue products. >> i sign trade agreements that help the companies sell more goods to millions of new customers. goods stamped with three proud words. "made in america." >> while it's true abroad that the u.s. products have a reputation for quality, getting americans to believe is it a challenge for retailers. >> nation that doesn't make anything and doesn't have a balance, doesn't have much of a future. >> the problem is availability, part visibility. which is why lidscom founded made in usa forever.com. website dedicated to selling products made in the u.s. from jeans and work clothes to toys, electronics, guardp and garage tools. sales doubled over last year. u.s. prices may be higher, but 80% of americans say they will pay a premium for better
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quality. >> it touches people. farm they're grows the cotton, person takeing a it to the mill. working at the mill. so on and so on. the people that support them. economic multiplier effect is 1.78. for every dollar that we spend in the own nation. >> 1960, 98% of shoes bought in america were made in america. today it's 2%. red wing boots and alden shoes the exception. wages for low-skilled jobs in china about $15 a day are rising. slinking the labor differential. making the u.s. products more competitive. they have increase in u.s. sales in furniture, fabricated metals, plastic a electronics. after detroit made bad cars in the '70s, the american products got a bad rap. now many american products are revered for quality and durability. as the brand improves, many expect sales to follow.
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>> thank you. later, touching story about a girl's effort to make a big difference for other sick children. first, seasonals coming home to holidays. we will talk to folks two work hard to make the journey special. flo. i need you. i feel so alone. but you're not alone. i knew you'd come. like i could stay away. you know i can't do this without you. you'll never have to. you're always there for me. shh! i'll get you a rental car. i could also use an umbrella. fall in love with progressive's claims service. if we took the already great sentra apart and completely reimagined it with best-in-class combined mpg, and more interior room than corolla and civic? and a technology suite with bluetooth, navigation and other handy stuff? yeahthat would be cool. introducing the all-new nissan sentra. it's our most innovative sentra ever.
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>> doug: many of you are travelling over the holidays to see friends and family. for the men and women in uniform lucky enough to head home, well deserved break from rigors of duty. john roberts looks at the emotional reunions and first class treatment for troops travels through atlanta's airport. >> first buses arrived before 3:00 the basic training almost complete. each focused on single mission. >> where are you headed? >> go to san diego. >> in all, more than 4,000 of them. supreme challenge for the busiest narrate world. operation that called for military precision. >> we appreciate everything you do. >> help of employees who volunteer for midnight duty. >> i see the young men coming through. i think of my own family. i think of what they are putting at stake.
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feel proud. >> for many of the soldiers the basic training i the first time away from home. amid a joy of being backed with loved ones for 17 days, thoughts of next christmas could be at afghanistan. >> serving my country. proud of what i'm doing. >> how does the family feel? >> very proud of me. >> i'm scared but i'm excited because this is what i have been wanting to do. >> she will hang in for me. my dad proud of me. he knows i'll be all right. >> atlanta's airport is used to handling plenty of military traffic. >> but for this block leave, tsa set up special security lanes to speed the soldiers on their way. then there is the uso, here 24/7 to welcome returning troops and see them off to battle. >> merry christmas. thank you for your service.
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>> she volunteers with the uso every month. >> they look so young and their faces are so sweet. they appreciate little things like a candy cane, for not having sugar for three months. their appreciation of the little things we do. >> at the same time, the fresh face recruits head home to contemplate what comes next for them. group of veterans that know too well what it is like to be in a war zone land at the airport. 777 carry more than 350 troops back from kuwait and afghanistan. they are home only for a few short days. before six more months in the war zone. >> feels great. been five-and-a-half months. time to play santa. >> what are you looking forward to? >> i have four children and the two boys are wrestling. wrestling tournaments in raleigh the next couple of days. looking forward to going to those. >> what advice do combat veterans have for young
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warriors that may replace them? >> some of the best training they could get. when they go there, it is an honor. look forward to it. >> we like to welcome you aboard flight denver. >> every flight, passengers and crew show their appreciation for the troops. privilege to be flying alongside them. >> we would like to give them our personal welcome aboard and congratulations for the service to our country. >> pilots jack morgan and tom stagle make a special evident to recognize service members. morgan was a naval aviator, stagel, a marine pilot. >> i was blessed going through my basic training we were at peacetime. these gentlemen from the day they sign up they know what they are getting in to. making incredible sacrifice on our behalf. >> the most dedicated to the generation of warriors are veterans of the last long conflict, vietnam. >> mary lou austin, vietnam era wife, tirelessly runs the airport uso center.
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>> we found tucker manning the military lounge on concourse b. even now he tears up the way he and his fellow vets were treated when they came home. >> because of that, the way we were brought home, never another troop brought home that way. that is why i'm here. that is why veteran are here to support the young men and women. >> not even tested in battle, they are thankful for the -- hero for the thankful nation. >> they make tremendous sacrifices. so do their families. thank you, all. still ahead, karl rove and joe trippi offer thoughts on gun control. if you think you know what the manger scene looked like 2,000 years ago, an authority on the
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>> doug: welcome back to the christmas eve edition of "special report." now inspirational sport of a 9-year-old girl and real meaning of christmas. from our fox sister station wttg has a story of gabriella, fourth grader to make sure that other kids have their wishes come true this holiday. >> she is a tiny 9-year-old. but she has a huge heart and extraordinary amount of good will and determination. because of her, that sick children across the area are going to see their wishes come true. >> dear santa. i'm gabrileshlla, the one with the tumor. >> she wanted others to have the same opportunity. her mother saw macy's donating $1 for every letter to san the received in the store up to
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$1 million. >> make a wish touched me. >> she wanted to make sure that other children in the shoes can have the same opportunity. her mom saw an ad for the believe campaign. every letter they are donating $1 to make a wish foundation. she set a goal. >> she realized if she could generate 10,000 litters -- letters someone else would get their wish granted. >> chris helped her start a facebook page and word of mouth, the plan took off. >> first days we had 21,000 letters. we raised it to 50,000 letters. then we got to 100,000 letters. we stopped setting goals. total delivered to macy's 240,983. [ applause ] her friends from school and yes, even synagogue had a
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request from santa. >> want her to get better. >> but they weren't the only ones to pitch in. >> we have letter letters from 0 states and every continent. >> she seemed born with a mission to help others. long before being daig knowed with cancer herself at the age of 7 she donated her hair to locks of love. she collected money for local food pantry. now she is touching hearts around the world. >> we have solges in afghanistan who sent me -- soldiers in afghanistan who sent me messages saying after what happened in connecticut i was bummed out and then i stumbled on this story on the "reredskins page. lifted my spirits back up. >> in her letter she challenged macy's to go further. >> what if make a wish gets 1,200,000 letters? what are the extra 20,000 letters going to go? go to kids? or just extra? and every 10,000 should be a
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wish. >> macy's announced it will donate extra $25,000 in her name. >> you might have a bad day today but there is always a bright star to look forward to tomorrow. look inside. what is your bright star? thank you. happy holidays. >> at the dulles town center, lauren demarco, fox 5 news. >> doug: remarkable little girl. should put her to work on the fiscal cliff deal. besides being the leader of catholic church, pope benedict xvi is challenged author. it challenges part of the traditional nativity scene. we look another faith and facts surrounding the first christmas. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: pope benedict xvi dons the scholar hat in the latest booth. book, exploring the christmas story as event in
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history. >> gospel story of jesus is historical. pope distinguishes that. symbolic approach. like when augustus is emperor of rome he situates this at specific time. it's unlike mythic language like once upon a time. or "star wars" long, long ago in galaxy far,f away. >> he was a prolific author before becoming pope. but this book had an initial printing of unprecedented million copies in nine languages and hitting bookstores in 50 countrys. >> he takes a study of the iconic images. animals in the manger. neither one of the two gospels that contain the birth narrative matthew and luke mentions them present. >> he points out in the gospel story itself you don't find
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reference. but later they appeared. >> the pope writes that jesus was born earlier than thought. six century monk miscalculated the date. >> gospel of matthew says that they had children less than two years old murdered from estimated when jesus was born. from that, if he died in 4 b.c. you count back two years. the scholars come up with six or seven b.c. for birth of christ. >> infancy narrative is desire for christians what renewed the faith. in new york, lauren green, fox news. >> doug: fox all-stars are here to discuss if mitt romney really wanted to be president? first, two gentlemen you know well are coming back to tackle gun control. i thought i'd start the video
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by showing you the apartment building where the fire was.
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>> doug: in the wake of the sandy hook massacre, bret baier sat down with familiar states to tuck about the issue. >> they launched effort to curb gun violence putting biden in charge of a commission to spearhead that effort pursuing the policy changes. now to talk about that, joining us from austin, texas,
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karl rove, former senior advisor to president george w. bush. and joe trippi, democratic strategist who points out he was right a lot in 2012. thank you for joining us. talk about the way forward here, karl. how about this commission. how they push forward in washington, the current environment. >> there will be a lot of interest to do something immediately. senator feinstein said that she will reintroduce the assault weapons ban, the first day that congress is back in session in january. commission is a good idea provided it has bipartisan membership and gun control supporters and gun control opponents on it to look at this as a comprehensive issue. we have to be careful moving too quickly.
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yet, we have to have a comprehensive approach on the commission. i commend the president doing the commission. this could be way to find consensus about useful steps to take. >> joe, what are the key factors? >> there is a demand for something to be done. every one of these crisis, we come back and talk about it for a week. then nothing happens. the commission is a good idea. i agree with karl pleatly. the makeup of the commission, that really, really needs gun advocates and gun control advocates from the industry, i think, would be a good idea. to sort of start to deal with this in a meaningful way. there are a number of issues. >> another question is how the nra factors in to that. hay held a news conference friday. >> the only way to stop a
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monster from killing our kids is to be personally involved. and invested in a plan of absolute protection. the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. >> aftermath of the previous tragedies, nra has take an low profile. the fact they held a news conference is sort of unusual. >> look, they have been strong players behind the scenes. working on the member and the senator, giving them the ratings. if they don't tow the line, punishing them. i hope that is not what they this time. >> karl, what about the players who will be involved politically here. >> look, first, vice president joe biden, by the fact he is chairman of the commission will play a major role. but we don't know who the membership will be. and how they step forward or not step forward. in the senate, where the actions is likely to take place first, we will have
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dianne feinstein to introduce the weapons ban. the progun legislators like joe manchin of west virginia or warner will be major playe players. you can't get 60 vote unless you have pro-gun senator involved that points to a broader solution rather than narrower solution. easy thing to do is pass the assault weapons ban. no concrete evidence to prove that the tougher gun measures like that are going to necessarily reduce violence. skepticism is there. 50% of people thought stricter gun laws would have no effect on violence like at sandy hook. 16% said it would have a little. quarter thought it would have a lot of effect. skepticism of the gun control laws itself. broader problem and we should address it as a broader problem.
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>> doug: the players -- >> the players, 2016 factors in. >> a lot of guys are senators and will be worried about the primaries. marco rubio. he could be important. he has b-plus rating with the nra. what does he do? is he for whatever the steps are to move forward on gun control? that could be a problem for him in 2016. on the other hand, if he says with the nra, if they don't move, if there is no move fire department them and he stays with them and builds up his nra rating for the primary, of 2016, given he may be running for president, that may help him in primary. but with this environment, it could hurt him in the general election. that is not just him. a lot of the members. you are a senator from virginia, mark warner. are you going to step up, lead on gun control initiative again?
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here is somebody will do it. mansion from west virginia. a guy who used a gun in his ads and shot a senate bill, used it as a target. he is stepping away. it is going to be fascinating. but i think they were able to -- how far can they go and still avoid a primary problem later on? >> karl, they are talking about it being broad. not just gun control. mental health. and cultural issues. like video games and hollywood. really, the focus has been gun control. policy changes along those lines. >> well, again, the assault weapons in place, the weapons were purchased legally, not on the ban list. the assault weapons ban would
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have done nothing to keep it from this troubled man. this is a broader issue. horrific event. torn at the soul of america. so many innocent young lives were yo snuffed out. we better examine it and do so carefully, not do the quick and easy thing that makes us feel good. doesn't have anything to do with the preventing the problem. or might have a counter effect. >> it's christmas eve. we thought we'd end with this. a naughty and nice list for 2012. first, to joe. your naughty and nice list. who is on the nice list first? who is getting the lump of coal? >> my nice list to john roberts and the supreme court for upholding obamacare. my naughty list, give chunk of coal to people on both sides who did name-calling in 2012 elections, instead of trying to have more civil discussions like this one about how we can get to solve our problems. >> all right, karl, nighty and nice?
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>> yeah, joe is always in the ethereal big things. i am in little things. naughty list. all people who want to ban nativity display in public. santa will give them coal dust, not even coal. nice, gosh dang it, thank goodness for guys that made the "sky fall" movie. great movie. steven spielberg is going to hate to hear this coming from me, a big liberal. i'm not. but he did a wonderful job the "lincoln" movie and great entertainment for the families in the holiday season. nice, "lincoln" and "sky fall." naughty, scrooges who want to deny christmas. >> all right. even the whiteboard on christmas eve. merry christmas, guys. thank you very much. doug, back to you. >> doug: all right. white board with no numbers. thank you, bret. coming up next, the inside story behind romney's loss. fox all-stars will discuss the latest report. [ male announcer ] this december, remember -- you can stay in and like something...
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>> doug: remarkable piece in "boston globe" yesterday that examines why mitt romney lost the 2012 election and why barack obama won it. it does it with incredible insight from people high up in the romney campaign.
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and very high up, i should add in the romney family. something we haven't seen before. it concludes that the cam pin, made a remarkable series of costly financial strategic and political mistakes in retrospect all but assured the candidate's defeat. bring up on the screen a couple of quotes from tag romney, remark quotes. he says, "he wanted to be president less than anyone i met in my life. he had no desire to run." another quote, "if he could have found someone else to take his place he would have been ecstatic to step aside. he is a private person who loves his family deeply and wants to be with them but he has deep faith in god and he loves his country but he doesn't love the attention." let's bring in the panel now. steve hayes, senior writer for "weekly standard." nina easton, from "fortune" magazine. and charles krauthammer. sindcated columnist. nina, start with you.
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your husband was on the romney team. >> my interpretation is mitt romney didn't need to run for president after everything he has done in his life. saving the economics and making the money he has done, he made. being governor of massachusetts. more he didn't need to. but i would say that romney didn't underestimate how hard this was going to be. you had a crowded primary field going in to it first of all. he lost in the primary in 2008. when you get to general election, people forget how hard is it to unseat incumbent. 14 of the last 16 attempts failed. lep they succeeded, why have they succeeded in the incumbent president had to go through a primary. go to 1980 when reagan reag won. jimmy carter had a bad economy, but he had a primary channel from very elquent and charismatic ted kennedy. flash forward to 1992.
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george h.w. bush unseated by clinton with 42% of the vote but ross perot was in there. but h.w. bush faced a primary channel from buchanan -- challenge from b buchanan. smart u.s. move is to put hillary clinton in the cabinet so she wasn't causing mischief. >> do you buy that? >> it made his job more difficult. i don't buy -- i understand why tag romney said what he said. he wants to protect his dad. there is something noble in doing that. i don't buy the claim that the dad didn't want to run for president. he ran for president for six years. you have don't do that if you don't want to run for president. romney for all the good quality that he had, one quality that he lacked in my view was authenticity. this is somebody who seemed like he wanted it badly. seemed like he wanted to run.
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showed through in everything that he did. now, one could argue that is good. one could argue it's bad. it's a stretch for me to believe he didn't really want to run. >> doug: somebody said -- i wish i could remember who it was. mitt romney in some respect, i think it was meant as a compliment was a ward cleaver, father's knows best guy in a lindsay lohan world. quotinquoting from the piece in "boston globe" romney's eldest son trig drew up 12 people whose lives were helped by his father. unknown. such as assisting dying teenager in writing a will or helping families in financial league. romney strategists worried stressing the personal side would backfire. charles? >> that is sort of nuts. i think the single worst tactical error was on the fourth day of the republican
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convention. when everybody is watching and romney makes the speech. at the 10:00 hour when the networks are tuning in, they had shown these parents who told the really heart warming stories about how romney cared about their child dying of cancer. how he showed concern and was involved in their lives. then there was also a video of romney, effective, biographical one and they were known 9:00 hour. instead you got 12 minutes of the clint eastwood skit that dominated evening. essentially wiped out the romney speech. i don't know if anyone remembers the romney speech. all they remember is eastwood. that is what tagg is talking about. if you run for 60 years in exhausting and degrading for size, which is what it is, you want the presidency. i think what he meant is that there were aspects o it showing leg, showing your past, showing your iner life
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that he did not like. he kept that out of the campaign. it hurt him. demonized mercilessly by the other side. >> that convention snafu exacerbated by the obama campaign frontloaded a lot of advertisement to label romney in states. >> can i jump in here? a lot of this, particularly the piece this weekend, superficial as if a differently run campaign could overcome a lot of republican problems. i was at the harvard kennedy school this semester. we had a debrief of both campaign, romney and obama campaign. tell you what the obama campaign people think. they thought that the approach to hispanics, the idea of self-deportation was kill every. they thought that they had had a very good strategy of being out in the field for four years getting to know every voter. they were able to not only bring out voters that came out in 2008, they were able to find new voters. the third thank they said is mitt romney's 47% comment.
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that actually, that played in a narrative about him that was building. they thought that was a killer for him. you can't look at if campaign without look at the broader problems of the republican party. keep in mind the senate candidates who failed in 2019. >> with all due respect, look at the broader issue, i mean it is unimaginable that someone would run against the president with the worst recovery since the second world war, highest unemployment since fdr second term and with piling up trillions of dollars of debt, and lose. we have thought a year ago that this was unlosable race. one reason we are in the fiscal cliff is because a deal was made in the summer of 2011. for the sequester and all of that. on the assumption, an assumption that republicans would win and wouldn't be an issue. if you look at the broadest vision of this, this is a race that republicans should have
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won. but i agree. the primary process, 20 debates that degraded and hurt the brand. not the best set of candidates. did not put shining good light on the party. certainly hurt the brand. that was a race that should have been won and wasn't. a lot of tactical and strategic errors. >> doug: 15 seconds. >> the most important moment of the 2012 race from the republican side came before a vote was cast, before much money was raised. that was the series of potentially good candidates who didn't end up running, whether john thune or jeb bush or mitch daniels or ryan or rubio. group of candidates that might have been able to carry a stronger message without being burdened by what nina is speaking about. >> doug: that is it for the panel. stave tuned to see one awesome, truly awesome graduation ceremony. business pr. executor of efficiency. you can spot an amateur from a mile away... while going shoeless and metal-free in seconds.
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